Warming Up
by magdelapetrem
Summary: In the midst of a war, a raccoon is found.


Hai guys.

So this might be qualified as a crack fic, but you know what? Don't care. I love it. I don't know why, but I do. So I hope you enjoy it.

I don't own the Fusion Fall character or anyone I named in this thing yada yada yada - ON TO THE STORY!

* * *

There was a raccoon.

What in the _Fusion Matter infested world_ was a raccoon doing there?

It peered up at her from its makeshift shelter, a cardboard box partially crushed by a fallen brick. It hissed, as if saying, "This is my home. Don't touch it."

Gwen Tennyson raised one eyebrow and knelt down, reaching out to it. It slunk further into its box until only his eyes shone at her from the darkness. Normally Gwen wouldn't have a problem with seeing him, but it was getting late into the evening, and she hadn't been hoping to run into a wild animal while going for a run in the fresh air.

"Come on. I have food for you," Gwen coaxed. She looked around for something, or someone, that could help her fulfill this promise, but the streets were barren, and people were pretty good about picking up litter these days. She furrowed her brow and glanced sheepishly back at the animal. "Okay, not here, but there's food at the base."

It refused to be sweet-talked and sat back stubbornly in his cardboard fortress.

She stood up again and told him, "If you're still here tomorrow, I'll have something for you."

The warning bell tolled for the base-wide curfew, and she hurried back to the residence barracks.

* * *

She went out for a run the next night with a backpack over her shoulder. She stopped as she was backtracking her way to her home and dropped to her knees in front of the cardboard box. A small hiss told her the raccoon was still inside.

With calm hands, she unzipped her backpack and pulled out a sandwich wrapped in a napkin. She undid the knot and ripped off a piece, holding it out to the animal. The raccoon hesitated, and then waddled forward and snatched it out of her fingers. Gwen smiled warmly. "See? I wasn't lying yesterday."

The raccoon chomped down the sandwich in a three bites and eyed the rest of it. The human obliged and held out the rest for him. It ate that with the same gusto and raced to the back of his box. Gwen laughed. "You only like me for the food, don't you?" she teased.

The bell tolled, and she stood. "I'll be back tomorrow with more." She turned and ran, leaving satisfied eyes staring after her.

* * *

"You know, I had kind of a bad day today," Gwen confided in the raccoon one day. "Ben was hurt in the battle. Ben's my cousin."

The raccoon watched her with apprehensive eyes, imagining the sandwich in his paws.

"Yeah, he got hit kind of bad. Has a slight burn on his arm and a cut on his leg from shrapnel, but that's it. It could have been worse. I'm just worried, you know?" she mused, tearing off another piece of sandwich and handing it to the raccoon. It greedily took it and bit into it while Gwen talked. "I just wish he wasn't so impulsive. I know I should do something about it, maybe tell him to think his actions through before he does them, but-" She stopped abruptly and started laughing.

"I'm talking to a raccoon," she said in disbelief. She handed it the rest of the sandwich and started to walk away. "Thanks for listening."

* * *

The raccoon sat patiently as she offered a piece of lettuce. "No? No lettuce?" It just stared at her from his "masked" face.

She tried a carrot, and the raccoon ate that, but the next treat, a slice of banana, went over much better. A small dribble of drool fell from its mouth when she handed it the slice, and he swallowed that whole. That pleased him so much he let her reach over and stroke his head, scratch him behind his ears. He leaned into the touch after tensing, and found it quite pleasurable. Gwen smiled. "You're so cute."

* * *

The raccoon let her hold him three days after that, with several carrots and bananas at stake.

* * *

Two days later, she found the box gone. "Where'd you go?" she called to the alleyway. "Hey? Raccoon?" She walked into the darkness and peered around corners and in trash cans. "I have another sandwich. Do you want some?"

There were footsteps behind her, and she whirled around, eyes searching desperately for her raccoon. Ben was staring at her. "Gwen? Who are you talking to?"

Gwen frowned. "There was a raccoon here before. I can't find it."

"A raccoon?" Ben repeated.

"Yes, a raccoon." Gwen rolled her eyes. "It was living in a cardboard box and ate sandwiches I gave it."

Ben sighed and shook his head. "You're crazy, Gwen. But listen, Number Four sent me out to find you. We're heading back to the main base soon for reassignment. We're needed in the Alpha Sectors."

Gwen looked ruefully at the empty alley and nodded at him. "I'll be at the mission center in half an hour."

"Good. See you there." Ben left her in the dark to think about her Raccoon.

"I have to go soon, raccoon," she informed no one. "I'm going to something we call the Alpha Sectors. I'm needed there." She pulled a sandwich out of her backpack and unwrapped it, putting it on the ground in pieces. "I'll probably be here tomorrow. I hope you are. I want to say goodbye."

* * *

The next day, Gwen found Raccoon underneath the lid of a trash can with a wound on its left cheek, still red and raw. She gasped and dropped to her hands and knees, pulling the lid off of Raccoon and pulling it close. "What happened to you? Is this why you weren't there yesterday?"

The raccoon looked pitifully up at her and resigned itself into her gentle hands.

"Well, you aren't bleeding, that's good, but it probably hurts a lot," Gwen cooed. "And it might scar."

Raccoon just sat in her arms as she tried to make it feel better.

* * *

Gwen saw a trash can rustle and headed for it two days after she was informed she had to leave. It fell over in a clatter and her raccoon tumbled out. She laughed. "Silly Raccoon."

She wasn't sure when, but the raccoon's name became Raccoon. What it was became its name.

The raccoon saw her coming and eagerly stumbled over. Its eyes sparkled at her. Its new scar on its cheek was almost healing well. "Yes, yes, I have food for you. It's a treat today."

Raccoon watched her swing her backpack around her shoulder and pull a bag of pretzels out. She undid the clasp and held one out. Raccoon wasted no time in grabbing it with it front paws and plopping down on it hind legs. They ate snacks together, Gwen slowly taking it in her arms and petting his coat. "Say, Raccoon, are you a girl or boy?"

She obviously received no answer from the raccoon and had to figure it out for herself. She lifted it up so she could see its belly.

"Oh. Boy."

She put the now disgruntled Raccoon back in her lap and fed him another pretzel. "Listen, Raccoon, I'm going soon. Tomorrow, at dawn. Would you want to come with me? You could have all sorts of food and meet all sorts of people…" She trailed off and handed Raccoon more food. "Would you want to come with me?"

Raccoon, hearing the distressed tone of voice, looked up at her with his dark brown eyes. He leaned up and licked the underside of her chin, and then turned back to the bag of food. Gwen hugged him close. "I knew you'd want to."

* * *

Gwen lifted Raccoon into her lap on the shuttle and smiled at Ben. "Told you there was a raccoon."

Ben gave her an amazed look and started to laugh. "Oh man, Gwen, I thought you had just lost your mind!"

"Nope," Gwen chirped. She ran her hand over Raccoon's fur. "This is Raccoon. He's mine."

"He's a wild animal, Gwen," Ben chided.

"So are you."

"But I'm potty trained."

"Raccoon can learn."

"I'm not helping you with that."

"I don't need your help."

Their conversation was cut short by Numbah Four hopping on the shuttle, looking at the raccoon on Gwen's lap, turning to the operative next to him, and saying, "That IS a raccoon, right?"

"It is, sir," the operative affirmed.

"Good. I thought I'd just had a little too much chocolate sauce," Numbah Four grumbled.

Gwen and Ben laughed with each other.

The shuttle took off a few minutes later, with Raccoon secure in Gwen's lap.

* * *

The End! Yay for really really random ideas!


End file.
